Concrete
by mourneroffictionaldeaths
Summary: Somewhere along the lines of real and not real, it had become real. She had fallen in love with him. And that scared her to death. Canon Divergent one-shot.


** A/N: This one-shot is inspired by Britt Nicole's song Concrete. I listened to it and thought it fit Everlark beautifully. Of course, I had to change some things, which resulted in a slight OOC one-shot. Most of what I changed was in the first book, but there are a few necessary parts that I took from Mockingjay. But overall, I skipped Catching Fire, because there really was no changes needed for this canon divergent one-shot to work. Hope you like! Review, and let me know your thoughts!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE HUNGER GAMES. ALL CREDIT GOES TO SUZANNE COLLINS**

* * *

_ We are broken, in the right places... _

When Peeta joined the Careers, she knew, that she shouldn't have trusted him. But she also felt a sinking feeling for some reason. Almost as if she expected more from him. Almost as if he had betrayed her.

Confusion, anger, and hurt coursed through her. She thought Peeta was the kind, caring baker's son. Not the one who would team up with the bloodthirsty, violent Careers. Something seemed off.

She shook it off. She was in the games. She had to focus. She couldn't dwell on the boy who had saved her life and once given her hope. Now he had betrayed her, and their district.  
But he hadn't betrayed her, not really. It's not as if they were friends, were they?

But still, she couldn't forget what he had said in his interviews. But he was lying, wasn't he?

* * *

But still, even though Katniss had come to the conclusion that she and Peeta weren't friends, and were only connected by that one encounter when they were younger and the district they came from, she still felt wretched as she sawed through the tracker jacker nest. She couldn't just let him die.

So, in a very un-Katniss like way, she snapped some branches from the tree and threw them toward him, praying that they wouldn't miss. To her relief, they didn't. He woke with a violent jump, and his eyes immediately snapped to where she sat perched in her tree. He sat up.

"Run!" she mouthed. And with some frantic motions with her hands, he finally understood and ran in the direction away from the lake.

* * *

She watched Glimmer die. In her fuzzy state and hallucinating, she saw her bow and arrows. They were her's. She needed to get them.

While struggling with the arrows, she remembered something, but she didn't know what it was. Someone was coming? But who? She finally pulled the quiver of arrows off of Glimmer and ran, all the while hallucinating vividly.

Was someone chasing her?

She saw Ceasar, her mother, Prim, but all those images seemed so far away and mixed in with ribbons of green and blurred with white...then blackness.

* * *

_ Heart's been stolen, so many faces. You came runnin' in, they all were runnin' out. You were saving me, You could have saved yourself..._

Peeta. She saw Peeta. But he seemed so real, almost as if she could touch him. Did he come back? She reached out. She felt safe with him. His eyes were so blue...She was asleep.

When she next opened her eyes, she was alone. Peeta wasn't there. She looked at her arm, it was all red, probably from her scratching. She looked around.

Just then, she saw him. Blond, disheveled hair falling into his eyes-blue eyes, his shirt was dirty, and his arms were covered in bites and bruises.

"Hey, you're awake," He said suddenly, pulling her out of her thoughts. His smile was bright.

She studied him a bit longer. "How long have I been asleep?"

"A few days." Just then, his eyes brightened a bit and he moved to pull something out of a log covered in moss.  
Glimmer's bow and arrows.  
Well, they were Katniss's now. She grinned. So she hadn't dropped them while running through the woods after being bitten by the tracker handed them to her, and she took them eagerly, running her hands across the bow.

They became a team.

Katniss would hunt, set snares, and Peeta would scout out the arena for the Careers, since he knew them best and how they worked. At night, they would take turns staying awake and keeping watch.

Slowly, as much as Katniss knew that she would eventually have to break off the alliance with Peeta, she knew that she couldn't let him die. It was like she had a mental war going on. It would tell her to leave, and then it would tell her she had to stay, because, for some unfathomable reason, Katniss couldn't leave Peeta. And she didn't know why. It was like she was attached to him in some form or another. Katniss knew it didn't make any sense.  
She wanted him to live. She didn't know where that had happened, or how. But she knew that somehow, she didn't want to lose the boy with the bread.

And so, when Haymitch started sending them clues to play up the star crossed lovers act, it wasn't hard. She wanted it to be, she wanted to be angry. But she was secretly happy that she didn't have to leave Peeta.

When they were stuck in the cave, and in the rain, it was almost like she was just back in District 12, Peeta made her feel happy and safe. Almost as if she weren't in the games. But then it would all come back to her, that she and this boy, who had become somehow important to her, were in the Hunger Games, and that they were putting on a show for the Capitolites. That one of them would be dead. She didn't want Peeta to die.

Then they announced the rule change, and the absolute and immediate relief that washed over her made her realize one thing. That somewhere, along the indefinite line of real and not real, it had become real. That she had fallen in love with Peeta.

And that scared her to death.

* * *

_ And when I scream in the night, you're holdin' me tight, When I'm down in the ring you finish the fight, When I'm pulling away, you know what to say...And I know that we'll survive. Even when we're in too deep...we're solid like concrete, the heartbreak is over tonight. Cause we found each other, we won't buckle under, Yeah, we'll break the edge of the knife.  
'Cause you and me are Concrete._

The berries. They were the only answer.

Katniss couldn't live without him. She knew he wanted her to, but she couldn't.  
And so, with a trembling hand, she pulled them out and divided them between their hands.

"One," she grabs Peeta's empty hand.  
"Two," Peeta looks into her eyes, blue meets grey, silently asking her if she's sure. And with a slight, almost invisible nod, she says, "Three."

"STOP!" the clear voice rang out into the arena. "STOP!"

The whole of Panem watched as Katniss and Peeta dropped the berries, stunned. Then they embrace, in a hug so fierce and familiar. They had won.  
But in the back of both of their heads, they knew this wasn't the end.

* * *

_ Wrote our names, carved in the pavement, on the boulevard, everyone can see it. And through the footsteps, the cracks, and the weeds, and all of the stuff in between, it's still there.  
__And we're still here._

They were crowned as the victors of the 74'th annual Hunger Games. Everyone knew who they were, Everyone knew their names.  
Haymitch warned them of the danger they were in.  
On the train home, Katniss finally had the chance to think.  
She was going home. But she knew, life would never go back to normal. Did she want it to?  
She had just won the hunger games. 22 people had died, so many faces, and she didn't know even all of their names.  
And then, of course, there was Peeta. Still, the thought of loving him scared her. She knew what love did to a person. She didn't want to turn into her mother. But she needed Peeta. That much she knew.

_When I'm pulling away, you know what to say. And we'll survive. Because you and me are concrete._

She finds Peeta on the train that day and tries talking to him, but it all comes out a fuddled mess. She can tell he's hurt but trying to figure her out.

He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Katniss, we've just been through the Games. I don't expect anything from you. All I know is that I need you right now. You're the only one keeping me sane," he pauses, and looks at her, searching her face for signs of understanding. "We worked so hard in the games not to lose each other. What's the difference now, if you're trying to pull away when we need each other most? Haymitch says this is the worst part." He finishes.

He turns away from Katniss then and stares out the window. "Whatever you decide, though, Katniss. I don't want something you don't. Just know, that I'm here for you. Always," he whispers.

And at that moment, she knew he was right. And she wanted to stay with him. They needed each other.

* * *

_And when I'm screaming at night, you're holding me tight..._

Then came the nightmares. Each night Katniss would dream they were back in the arena. She had to watch them die over and over again. The mutts got to Peeta, or Cato killed him, and she could never save him. All those innocent children. Dead. Because of the Capitol.  
She would wake up screaming and thrashing, but Peeta would be there. He'd hold her in his arms until she calmed down. He made her feel safe. Loved. Less alone. She tried doing the same for him, but he always told her that just being with her made him feel better.

Katniss realized that even though they were forced together in the games, it would have happened anyways. That she and Peeta have always shared some sort of connection, distant as it may be, it was there. They needed each other, and they helped each other out no matter how deep things got. No matter where things went, they were the steady in each other's lives.  
Life was unthinkable without each other.  
Yes, it was hard, and the Capitol was relentless, but if they were together, they knew they could get through it.

* * *

_Baby, if the demons try and get you I'll be standing there right by your side, Every day. There's no mistake that you could make that's ever gonna make me walk away. Cause even when we're in too deep, we're solid like Concrete._

So after the Quarter Quell, when Peeta was in the Capitol, Katniss was determined that she would get him back. It didn't matter what it took, the Capitol had already taken too much from her. She was fueled by her anger and her motivation. She did everything District 13 asked of her. She wanted Peeta back. And she would get him back.

And after the rescue mission, when Peeta came back hijacked, she could only stand there and writhe with fury towards the man who did this to Peeta.  
But still, she would not give up on him, he was Peeta, deep down inside. And since Katniss was stubborn, no one could persuade her otherwise. She promised she would stand by his side, and do anything there was to bring him back. She loved him, and she needed him.

And slowly, he got better. The memories they had made that the Capitol weren't able to destroy won out against the ones they did. The love they shared ran too deep. They were connected in a way that no one understood. They made new memories. They grew even closer than they had before. Almost as if, even though the Capitol had hijacked Peeta against Katniss, she was the only one who could reverse it. And that's exactly what they did. It took months. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. It took time, and since Katniss had other responsibilities as the Mockingjay, it took even longer. But with her main focus on him, he came back stronger.  
And they came together as two symbols. of rebellion. More powerful than ever. They worked together side by side, they were a symbol of hope, courage, motivation, and the fight to never give up.

They were Concrete. They couldn't be apart. They may break, or grow 'weeds', but they will always be strong. Solid.  
_ Even when we're in too deep, we're solid like concrete, the heartbreak is over tonight. 'Cause we found each other, we won't buckle under, we'll break the edge of the knife. Cause you and me are Concrete.  
_

_ **THE END**_

_**Okay. That's it. What do you think? Please review!**_


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